


Pandora

by Achievelandia



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: August is a nice guy really, Eye Trauma, F/M, Gore, Helios headcanons, Jack is charming but also a total asshole, Jack turns someone into person slurry, Jack's office is just too much, shameless flirting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 13:00:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12841707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achievelandia/pseuds/Achievelandia
Summary: Ash has spent her whole life on Pandora but when Handsome Jack walks into her bar her life changes dramatically.





	1. The Bar Incident (or Meeting Handsome Jack)

**Author's Note:**

> This needs editing a lot but I've not posted anything in years and I felt the need. Over time I'll change the first chapter as I post more - I'll edit as I go because I'm getting better over time - because I know that there are a few issues like the fact that I constantly play the pronoun game. Rest assured, working on it.

Things didn't tend to last long on Pandora; bandit leaders, traders, even cities, everything came and went without recognition. The people of Pandora were far too used to the ephemeral nature of the place to pay it much mind. She ran a bar. It was a dive really, tucked away in one of the smaller settlements. Conveniently in the centre of several bandit camps, it served as a neutral meeting place for all kind of unsavoury folk and she was no stranger to trouble. 

It was a normal old night for her; two bar fights, one culminating in a stabbing, and an attempted robbery that ended with her doorman dragging the offender's corpse out the back by the ankle. Nothing out of the ordinary for a bar in the Borderlands. She was proud of her little bar, it may have been a hole in the wall dive but it was all hers and she’d managed to keep it that way. Hostile takeovers came and went, dealt with in various ways, her favourite being her Jakobs revolver with homemade Hyperion elemental mods. That night though, well it ended far from typically. 

She was rearranging the shelf of spirits when she heard the bell that signalled the arrival of a new customer. Tucking the bottle of whiskey that she was holding away in the gap left by the empty she was replacing, she turned to the bar to serve the new arrival. In the time it had taken her to turn around the bar had emptied out, the few patrons she had that night making themselves scarce so quickly that their bar stools were left spinning comically in their wake. on the other side of the bar, a curious look on his face, stood Handsome Jack.

Revolver strapped to his hip, blood spattered across his masked face, his yellow Hyperion sweater almost glowing in the dim light of the bar and mismatched eyes scanning the empty chairs before they landed on her. She was stunned, frozen under his gaze. She dealt with bandits, cutthroats, traitors, conmen and murderers on a daily basis but she had never considered that she might come across someone as deplorable as Handsome Jack. In her bar. Stilling one of the spinning stools with lithe fingers littered with grazes. Sitting before her with a tired yet sly smile on his perfectly sculpted lips.

"A drink would be nice.”

Shaking herself out of her daze she nodded, going about her business and, casually as she could manage, serving Handsome Jack…

“What can I get for you, sir?”

His answer was simple; whiskey, straight, no ice. She poured the drink quickly, picking from the best of her stock. She was mildly self-conscious of her dingy little bar in that moment, with its chipped glasses and peeling paint, acutely aware of the fact that the CEO of Hyperion was sat across from her and that his sneakers were probably worth more than her entire establishment. Her dithering was interrupted as Jack tapped on the bar to get her attention.

“Hey, kiddo, get on with it alright. I’m parched and it’s been a hell of a long day. Just don’t try to poison me, pumpkin. I’ll be pretty pissed if you do.”

She placed the drink before him, hesitant but unwilling to risk his mood turning sour. She studied him carefully as he picked up the glass to take a sip, making a show of drying glasses for something to do. Scraped knuckles and dirt under his well-manicured fingernails told her all she needed to know about the kind of day he’d had. He had walked in alone but she had no doubt that there would be an entourage of Hyperion lackeys stationed nearby and Loader Bots on standby in the event that anything went wrong. She actually found it hard to believe that his security even let him out of their sight, it was surprising enough that he was on the planet in the first place, but to be alone in the bandit’s neutral zone, well that just seemed crazy.

“What makes you think I'd have poison on standby?”

He looked up, surprised that she had spoken, but she couldn’t help her curiosity. He seemed to take a second to think about her question before answering, matter-of-fact as if he wasn't casually discussing the potential for murder.

“You own a bar on Pandora, dum dum. Also, I can see it. You know, you really ought to hide that better if you plan to use it.” He gestured to an innocuous bottle on the shelf behind her, pale purple glass and a faded label. It looked like any old liquor… except that Jack was right.

“How can you know that?”

Jack smirked over the rim of his glass, his eyes locked on her as she leaned against the back of the bar, watching him carefully. He could tell that she was nervous but she was handling herself better than most; it was usually either bowing and scraping, which drove him nuts, or trying to kill him, which at least provided him with some entertainment.

“I’m just that smart.” He shrugged, self-satisfied smirk still plastered on his face, “That, and lots of people have tried to kill me in lots of different ways.”

His empty glass hit the bar and he tapped the rim, indicating for her to refill the glass. She did so quickly, still not quite believing that she was pouring drinks for Handsome fucking Jack. Most people on Pandora in her position probably would have gone for the poison, or failing that, grabbed for the gun under the bar. As it was, she didn’t see much reason to want to kill Jack. He was a sadistic bastard if the rumours were to be believed, but Pandora was full of ruthless pieces of shit and the worst of them all were usually the self-righteous ones who thought they were above it all and claimed some kind of twisted moral high ground because they were picky with who they killed. It disgusted her. So what if Handsome Jack was destroying Pandora in search of a Vault? He could turn the whole planet into a giant chunk of Eridium for all she cared; Pandora was a shithole, desert and tundra, disgusting wildlife, corrosive plants and bugs the size of people. Pandora could kiss her ass, it tried to kill her every day, as far as she saw it Jack was just doing the same to the godforsaken piece of rock and all of the hideous, murderous people on it.

She filled Jack’s glass once more as he had emptied it more quickly than the first, checking the clock on the wall behind him before deciding to pour a drink for herself, last call had been and gone and there was no chance of any more customers coming around with Handsome Jack there. She could afford to be a little lax, perhaps it would even ease her nerves, which were still on edge thanks to the fact the CEO of Hyperion was making himself at home in her bar. Pouring a good slug of whiskey into a fresh glass, she plucked a couple of ice cubes from her cooler and dropped them into her drink.

“You’re a philistine, girl, watering it down like that. I mean, I know it’s Pandoran whiskey but come on.”

She laughed at that, surprised to see that his expression was jovial, his tone light. For a murderer, he was surprisingly charming.

“Honestly, I don’t know how you stomach this stuff, it’s the best liquor in my bar and it’s still terrible.” She grimaced as she downed the contents of her glass quickly. She watched Jack as she placed her glass on the bar, pouring another drink as the burn of the rough liquor faded into a pleasant warmth.

“And yet.” He gestured to her freshly filled glass with a wry grin, “Anyone would think you were drinking for a reason. You nervous, kitten?”

She forced herself to ignore the pet name, fighting off the blush that threatened and attributing the warmth she felt to the liquor. “Anyone would think that I wouldn't have to deal with Handsome Jack at the end of the day.” She downed her second glass, pointing to him in an accusatory manner as he made an incredulous face, “Don’t play coy, Mr. CEO, you’re intimidating as fuck.”

As she was pouring herself a third drink the grating digital chime of the bell above the door caught her attention, indicating the arrival of customers. She heaved a sigh, glancing up at the men who had entered. Maliwan weapons on all of them… They were holstered for now but she had a feeling that would probably change. Their clothing marked them out as bandits, the crimson making their allegiance clear. She wasn’t exactly eager to take on three bandits heavily armed with elemental weapons and decided that playing it cool would be the best option.

“You’re a little late, boys. Last call was an hour ago… but I could make an exception, I suppose.” Jack hadn’t acknowledged the arrival of the bandits but she could tell that he had tensed, clearly prepared to defend himself if necessary. She made sure to keep her hands visible on the bar, not wanting to invite trouble. She didn’t even want to think about the damage that elemental weapons could do to her bar.

“We’re not here to drink, we’re here for him.” The bandit at the front of the boyband formation that had stepped through the door spoke up, she supposed he was probably the leader. His tone was venomous as he pointed aggressively at Handsome Jack, drawing his weapons slowly, “Stay out of our way and you won’t get hurt.”

She scoffed a laugh at that, downing the remainder of her drink before walking along the bar to the closest weapons. Placing the glass down behind the bar, she made a show of having business other than a big gun on the underside of the bar before grabbing for a bottle and tossing it in their direction. It shattered on the floor, seemingly harmless, and the bandit who had spoken let out a laugh from behind his helmet.

“Bad idea, sweetheart.” She grimaced at the bandit, his tone lecherous. Glancing over at Jack, she saw that he was giving her a dubious look and she could almost hear him asking her what the hell she was up to. She flashed him a quick grin before turning back to the bandits.

“Nobody kills people in my bar but me. Now, if you gentlemen don’t mind…” She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a remote detonator, pressing the button to engage the cryogenic grenade that she had hidden in the old liquor bottle she had pitched at her newest guests. 

Instantly the two bandits flanking their leader froze solid, hands still reaching for their weapons. Jack glanced around, giving a small chuckle, “Not bad, pumpkin.” He spun slowly on his bar stool — drink still in hand — finally coming face to face with the bandit, whose gun was now swaying between the two of them as if he couldn't decide who posed the greater threat. She was almost certain that Handsome Jack was the greatest threat that had ever been in her bar but telling the bandit that would likely just get her shot sooner… probably by Jack, now that she thought about it. She was amazed that they'd only sent three men if their aim truly was to kill Jack.

As it happened, Jack turning around and resting his hand on the revolver that hung holstered at his hip was enough to provoke the bandit to shoot. He was an absolutely awful shot and she breathed a sigh of relief as the few rounds he fired on his way to cover behind a table went wide and she grabbed for her own gun — a lovely Jakobs revolver that was her pride and joy aside from the bar itself. Her relief was short-lived, however, as she was blown backwards, realisation clicking into place as her back collided with the wall behind the bar. Elemental rounds. Explosive elemental rounds.

A loud crash ripped through the bar, the shockwave causing her chest to vibrate in time with the air around her, forcing the breath from her lungs. The second explosive round splintered the bar, sending debris flying her way. She didn’t have a chance of getting out of the way, the pain spidering across her chest immobilising her. Her hands flew up to cover her face but she was too slow, sluggish with the disorientation of being thrown, and the sharp wood and chunks of molten metal tore at the skin of her forearms and the palms of her hands. Amidst the burning pain of her flesh being rent open by splinters, she didn’t even register the chunk of the bar that caught the left side of her face. It was only when she tried to blink away the dust that she let out a cry of pain, registering that the vision in her left eye had gone dark. A wetness on her cheek that she somehow knew was blood. And then something else…

Round after round thunked into the wall above the bar, showering her with liquor. She had no idea what had happened to Handsome Jack, far more preoccupied with her own situation. An acrid smell caught her nose over the coppery tang of her own blood and true panic hit her, she knew the smell of corrosive rounds discharging and she wasn't a fan of it happening anywhere near her. The first drip landed on her before she could claw herself to safety, viscous and slimy, it took a moment for the pain to register. The corrosive fallout clung to the skin and ate through the flesh effortlessly. After that it was seconds before more fell, landing on her arms, her shoulders, her wounded eye. The pain was unimaginable, blackness encroaching on the vision of her working eyes as her bar exploded around her. Her last thought before letting go was that she’d been thankful for a relatively uneventful evening. That had turned out well…

***

Meanwhile, Handsome Jack had taken cover behind an overturned table and was cursing his luck as colourfully as he could. There he was, thinking he’d found a place to sit for a quiet drink after days of hunting down bandits and dodging piles of skag shit, but no! If he had his way he’d set the entire planet on fire in retaliation for the week he’d had. As it was, now he would have to somehow shoot his way out of an elemental bar fight. Well… on second thought, it could be fun to blow off some steam. Unholstering his revolver, he couldn't resist throwing a jibe over his cover.

“You know, if you weren’t using Maliwan, I’d probably be dead already!” He ducked instinctively as a volley of rounds hit the table, the old wood bursting into flames only to be extinguished by a slag round that ate through the material swiftly, rendering it useless. Jack shook his head in disbelief at the bandit’s lack of discipline, a muttered ‘idiot’ passing his lips as he stood brazenly.

“You really should pay more attention, use your weapon to it’s fullest capacity. You could’ve burned this whole place down with me in it but you just put the damn fire out and then forgot you had to reload! God, you guys are stupid.” He stepped over the wreckage of his cover, careful not to get any of the purple goo on his shoes — he had known it was a terrible idea to wear his favourite sneakers, dammit! Striding towards the bandit who was fumbling to reload, he raised his revolver from where he held it, his grip relaxed, arm at his side… and fired two rounds. They caught the bandit cleanly, taking out his knee and then burrowing into the meat of his thigh as he fell to the ground.

“You have people here too, huh? I really thought I’d found a place where I wouldn't have to worry about you guys but man, you’re everywhere! You’re literally worse than the skags.” Tucking his revolver away as he reached the man he kicked the elemental SMG away and pulled the mask from the bandit’s head in one swift motion. “You vermin are hell-bent on making my life difficult.” Every now and then he punctuated his speech by hitting the bandit — for emphasis! A sharp kick to the stomach causing him to crumple, a heavy punch that caught his cheek and had him spitting blood on the floor. Oh, it was satisfying!

“Not only are you guys disrupting my business,” He grabbed a fistful of the bandit’s hair, yanking his head up so that he could get one more blow in, “Now I can't even drink in peace!”

Letting out a sigh, Jack let his shoulders sag, “You know what? I’m done with you. Tell Roland I said hi.” His revolver came to rest against his adversary’s head at lightning speed, Jack pulling the trigger effortlessly. He wasn’t crowned the best gun in the Borderlands for nothing. Looking himself over, he let out a dramatic curse as he saw the fresh blood and mildly singed patches on his jacket. Stepping over the lead boyband bandit’s corpse he approached the two who were still frozen, dispatching them quickly with a single shot to the head that caused them to burst into icy slurry. Sighing once more as the mess reached his sneakers he holstered his gun and muttered, “I don’t know why I bother.”

Striding across the room he hopped over the ruined bar to see the girl who had been serving him, crumpled in a heap, her head limp and tilted to the left with blood spilling over her colourful shirt. A Jakobs pistol rested beside her. He tutted as he crouched before her, picking up the gun and tucking it into his jacket before looking her over. He could smell corroded flesh over the sweetness of burning wood and slagged flooring. Taking her by the chin he turned her face towards him and winced as his gaze fell on her injuries; her eye was gone, wide open despite her being passed out, the cavity dark with fresh blood. The flesh around it had been ripped by debris, small patches of corrosion blackening the skin and eating their way through to the bone. It was a mess, Jack had seen a lot of injuries in his time — his own was pretty shocking but yikes!

In a split second impulsive decision, he scooped her up in his arms, cautious of the corrosive substance still eating its way through her clothes as he carried her outside. He was about to call his men using his ECHO until a truck pulled up and six soldiers, decked out in luminous yellow Hyperion armour piled out.

“It’s about damn time, where were you guys?!” He stalked over to the truck and placed the girl’s unconscious body in the back before turning to the soldiers who had formed up in ranks, “I want three of you keeping an eye on the bar, anyone comes around you wring any information you can out of them; I want to know who attacked me, where they lived and how many kiddies I have to drop mortars on. Two of you scout out the rest of the town, find their contacts, have them brought up to Helios — I want to deal with them personally. And for the love of fuck, get some civilian clothing, you guys glow, holy shit. Get the message out, nobody ruins my night!”

Turning on his heel, he pointed to the soldier at the end of the line, “You’re my driver, let’s go, chop chop!”

Sliding into the back seat beside the girl, he leaned over to check on her. She was breathing which was more than he’d expected, and the majority of the remaining corrosive goo had evaporated leaving wounds that wept blood but weren't getting any worse. Knowing that the best option was to get her to the doctors on Helios, he glanced up to see if his driver had managed to pull himself together. Seeing the man waiting, Jack gestured as if it was obvious what should be happening. When they didn’t move he made an aggravated noise, “Well what’re you waiting for, beam me up, Scotty!” He rolled his eyes at the blank stare that greeted his comment, “To the shuttle, you idiot! We’re going back to Helios, quick snap.”

It took a couple of hours to make the journey back to the Hyperion station, he was actually surprised that the girl even made it, but there he was depositing her in the medical bay having carried her the whole way from the shuttle bay himself. His best doctors were already waiting for him, clearly alarmed and confused to see him in the medical bay in person. Explaining the situation took far longer than he would have like but eventually the girl was being carted away by nurses to be prepped for surgery. Holding them up briefly, he pried open the eyelids of her intact eye, chuckling at his own devious idea. He turned to leave, determined to get some work done now that he was home.

“I want the best we’ve got, spare no expense.” Pausing, he turned to his top surgeon with a devious smirk, “And doc, make it green, will ya.” He tapped his synthetic cheek beneath his own green eye before walking out, cackling as if he’d told some hilarious joke. The doctors were incredulous, to say the least but they didn’t dare disobey Handsome Jack knowing that their predecessors had been closely acquainted with the nearest airlock, and so they went to work.

Jack returned to his office with every intention of getting some work done, he opened the most recent coding bug he was working on and set up meetings for the rest of the day. He even contacted his secretary to let her know that he was open for business… but it didn’t take long for him to rescind that. He just couldn’t resist opening up his camera systems and pulling up the feed for the medical rooms. She was being treated in one of his private theatres, the doctors had clearly paid attention when he had told them to spare no expense, he even recognised his head surgeon overseeing the procedure. He watched in morbid fascination as they worked on her eye, clearing out the excess damaged tissue and stitching up the largest wounds before scanning her in order to measure her reconstructed eye socket. It took a couple of hours to complete the procedure, the eye being fabricated on site and situated almost effortlessly. Jack watched on in morbid fascination the whole time, unable to tear his eyes away from the screen as meetings came and went. It didn’t matter, he was the CEO, he could do whatever he wanted and what he wanted to do… was watch his money at work.


	2. The Eye Incident (or Ash Gets a New Job)

She hadn’t expected to wake up, she had been fully expecting to close her eyes and that would be that, bon voyage to life. And yet she did wake up. In a soft warm bed with a low mechanical droning all around her that was inexplicably soothing. Somehow, she was alive. She was thankful for that for all of thirty seconds.

“Rise and shine, kiddo!”

She opened her eyes blearily, wincing as the bright lights blinded her. She was acutely aware of a pressure keeping her left eye closed but she decided to forego thinking about that in favour of trying to figure out where on earth she’d ended up.

“Hey, wakey wakey, c’mon pumpkin, we don’t have all day.” It took her a second to connect that voice in her mind, her senses screaming danger as her sedative addled brain tried to catch up, unable to comprehend it right away. Wasn’t that… Handsome Jack? Then she must have been near a Hyperion base, that was the only possible explanation for hearing his voice. But then… Why did it sound like he was talking to her? Opening her eyes again she was thankful that the lights seemed to have dimmed somewhat, though that didn't do anything to alleviate how blindingly white and clinical the room was. Taking stock of her surroundings she realised she was in some kind of medical bay, and an advanced one at that, this wasn't some Dr. Zed chop shop. Standing beside her bed was a kindly looking doctor busying himself checking the instruments that surrounded her bed, and an impatient looking Handsome Jack.

“What… the frick?” Blinking the grittiness out of her eye, she stared at Handsome Jack, almost as if she was waiting for him to vanish into thin air. When he didn’t she decided to avoid thinking about why Handsome Jack was anywhere near her and turn her attention to more important things — after all, who wouldn't avoid thinking about dealing with Handsome Jack in a situation like this? — and instead taking stock of her injuries. She held her hands up before her uncovered eye; they were wrapped tightly in bright white bandages from her elbows to her finger tips, a deep ache permeating the extremities, the skin of her forearms feeling raw and tight beneath the layers of fabric and gauze. The pressure on her eye grew more irritating by the second as she glanced around, becoming more and more aware of the pain as she came to, unable to focus on anything. Almost as if he sensed her panic, Jack gestured to the doctor, snapping his fingers to get the man’s attention.

“Hey doc, any chance we can get these bandages off? I want to see what Hyperion money gets you these days.” Tapping his foot expectantly once more, Jack rolled his eyes as the doctor began to spout medical jargon in an irritatingly stilted manner — it was fun to be intimidating but man did it make simple conversations take longer sometimes! “Yes or no, doc?” He cut the man off rudely but she was thankful, having listened to the doctor intently, her head spinning with the talk of rejection percentages and potential complications. The simple answer was yes, evidently, as the doctor went to work removing her bandages. As he began to unwind the fabric she let out a sigh; the pressure on her injured eye eased, a scratchy pain she hadn't even noticed within the tangle of other sensations making itself known before fading slowly with each layer removed. Light shone through the skin of her eyelid, dark veins standing out in sharp relief as the blackness subsided. Letting her eye flutter open she hissed in discomfort, almost certain that she could feel the shutters in her cybernetic iris acclimatising to the vast level of information it was taking in. Slowly, shapes materialised as her vision cleared, white lumps becoming the table at the end of her bed, the chair across the room, her bandaged hands resting on pale blue bedsheets. It was almost as if her eye was calibrating, colour and brightness shifting to match her remaining biological eye. She raised her fingers to touch the skin of her cheek, curious about the tightness she felt there, but was stopped by fingers catching her bandaged wrist and circling it, holding her in place.

“Ah ah ah, no touching.” She glanced between Jack’s masked face and the fingers wrapped around her wrist, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She felt overwhelmed, out of her depth; she’d been badly injured, thought she was dead only to awaken in an unfamiliar place that she had the distinct feeling she didn't belong in, only to then find Handsome Jack hanging over her bedside like a concerned relative! It was absurd. His demeanour was no different to in the bar, cocky and overconfident, though now that she took the time to study him she noticed that he looked far less tired than he had. The way his mismatched eyes rested on her felt like the heaviest weight she could imagine and it took all she had not to look away from him, pull herself from the warmth of his grip. Jack continued talking as if oblivious to the effect he was having on her, “You took it pretty hard, pumpkin.”

Fear flashed through her at that, just how bad was it? Memories flickered to the forefront of her mind; the bar exploding around her, the stench of elemental discharge, slag melting something out of her line of sight, corrosive sizzling against her skin as she blacked out. What a mess it had been. “Can I at least see it?”

The doctor seemed reluctant as he handed her a small mirror, pausing to glance at Jack who gave a sharp nod of assent, before allowing her to take it. Jack released her wrist carefully as she lifted the mirror and she almost missed the security of it as nerves wracked her. She was scared of what she would see when she looked at her own face.

The stitches were the first thing to catch her attention, her fingers coming up to trace them without even thinking about it. Jack caught her wrist again, clicking his tongue in disapproval as he gripped her tighter than before, “You got a real thing for touch, don’t ya kiddo. Do I have to tie you up? Quit it.” She simply nodded, barely registering his words. She was far too distracted with taking stock of her injury. It was nowhere near as bad as she thought it would be, actually. There were two neat lines of stitches splitting her brow; one longer and reaching down onto her cheek, the other shorter and barely catching her eyelid but stretching further upwards. The puckered stitches pulled together ragged edges, explaining the tightness she had been so curious about. The wounds were still incredibly fresh, the skin red raw around the black thread that held the edges together but they had been stitched so well that she could already tell they would heal clean enough. It was far superior to the treatment she would have received from a typical Pandoran doctor. It took her a moment to actually register that they eye was any different but the more she studied it the more she noticed; it was brighter than any biological eye would be, almost as if it was backlit, and the iris was a gorgeous circular lattice of delicate circuitry that was so pretty she almost missed the most significant difference.

“It’s green.” She continued to look in wonder as the circuitry seemed to shift, pupil dilating in a manner that reminded her of a camera shutter and yet felt like nothing, as if she didn't have an eye made of metal and wires. Glancing up at Jack, she smiled in what must have been a goofy way, “It’s beautiful.”

Jack shot her a grin, letting her arm go, “Of course it is, cupcake. It’s Hyperion.” Turning on his heel, he moved to leave, turning back as if it was an after thought to say, “Come see me in my office when you're up to moving, there’s an ECHO in the drawer that’s all yours.”

The door swung closed behind him and she let out a relieved sigh. Handsome Jack was overbearing even when he wasn't trying to be intimidating and being around him had her heart beating a mile a minute without her even realising it.

“You’re okay to leave whenever you're ready.” She jumped as the doctor began talking from beside her, “Jack had your clothes washed but your jacket and shirt were destroyed by the corrosive ammunition so there's a fresh shirt in there for you.” He placed a bag at the foot of her bed, clear plastic revealing her jeans and boots as well as a bright yellow Hyperion sweater. She barely had the chance to register what had been said before the doctor carried on, placing a small plastic bottle on the table beside her bed, “Eyedrops, one drop every morning for a month, if you run out come and see me. I’ll need to see you in two days to change your bandages.”

She nodded her understanding and the doctor seemed satisfied, turning to leave. He paused as she spoke.

“Hey, doc? Thanks. I never would've made it without you.”

He smiled at that, “I’m just the one who stitched you up, Jack brought you in, he’s the one you need to thank.” With that she was left alone to get her bearings.

She pulled her clothes on quickly, glad to be free of the papery hospital gown and into something familiar. The Hyperion sweater was soft and she slipped it on gratefully, chilly in the climate controlled room. She was floored as the scent of the sweater engulfed her; her jeans had been completely sterilised, free of blood and Pandora dirt that had been caked into them over time, they smelled of literally nothing but the sweater… It smelled of gunpowder, sunlight and cinnamon. She held the long sleeves up to her nose and breathed deep, enjoying the rich scent of the plush fabric. It was incredibly satisfying to be back in her own clothes — sort of — even her socks had been cleaned! The sweater was comfortable and warm, quite clearly lived in. She blushed slightly at the implication. Whose sweater was she wearing? Surely not Jack’s… Shaking her head to get rid of that incredibly distracting thought she grabbed the ECHO communicator and eye drops, slipping them into her pockets before leaving the room.

The lobby of the medical facility was large and airy, a bank of elevators set into the back wall which she made her way over to. Stepping into a free one she studied the buttons available before she pressed the indicator for the Hub and waited, tapping her foot nervously. Her stomach flipped as the elevator began to move, carrying her upwards at speed. Her already ineffective attempts to control her nerves worsened further as the intercom gave a small chime and Handsome Jack’s voice piped into the elevator.

“Hey! Wondered when you were gonna show up, kiddo. You feeling okay? What am I saying, you’re probably scared shitless. So, I’m at the office, you know, work work work. It’s pretty easy to get here though, it’s the big fancy elevator at the back of the Hub that has all the people gathered around it. Don’t mind them, just make sure none of them get in with you, I don’t need any creepers up in here. Once you’re in there just buzz the intercom and Meg’ll let you in. Well, see you in a minute! Ciao.”

She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head sharply as she willed her nerves away. Every step she took, every second that passed took her deeper into an unfamiliar Hyperion facility, closer to Handsome Jack and all of the potential scary mass murdering things he could do. What the hell was she getting herself into?

The elevator came to a stop and she marshalled her features into something more dignified than blind panic and stepped out. She was greeted by a well-dressed woman who said nothing, simply gesturing her to the large double doors that no doubt lead to the office of the CEO of Hyperion. She tapped the door before stepping inside.

She expected to be stricken by Handsome Jack’s presence all over again, and she would have been, were it not for the massive floor to ceiling windows that bordered one wall of the whole office. She thought they were still on Pandora. She had been very wrong. She could see Pandora from where she stood, glowing in the distance, across the empty expanse of space. It was breathtaking.

“We’re on Helios.” Jack walked up beside her, chuckling at her stunned statement. She wanted to turn and face him, to be respectful and thank him for what he’d done for her, but she just couldn't tear her eyes away. “I never thought I’d see it from up here.”

“Looks a lot prettier from this far away, huh?” Jack stood behind her left shoulder, reflected perfectly beside her in the pristine glass, the darkness of space a perfect backdrop that threw his features into dramatic relief. It was then that she really noticed his eyes. She had seen them in the bar, taken note of how tired they looked, how bright the colours were, but it was only now that she connected the dots seeing the two of them side by side. They both matched, in that they were identically mismatched. He smirked as she glanced between them, clearly figuring out what had happened.

“You asked them to make it green?”

“Sure did. It’s cute, right.“ He flashed her a huge, self-satisfied grin, “It was a hell of a thing, watching them pop that baby in. I thought you were a mess before but man, surgery is gnarly. Cool though.” He gave a quick shrug before turning away from the window and walking back over to his desk. Picking up his ECHO, he sent a quick message before turning his attention back to her.

“Thank you.” He seemed surprised by her words, so she took it upon herself to explain, “The doctor told me that you brought me in yourself, I didn't realise that meant you'd flown me to Helios! I would have died without you, so thank you.”

Jack paused for a moment, watching her carefully before shrugging, “Don’t mention it.” When she looked at him with nervous incredulity, he continued, “No, seriously, don’t mention it, kid. I don’t need every man and his dog coming to me for replacements when bits fall off, I’m trying to run a business here.”

She laughed before she could stop herself, covering her mouth quickly, her eyes widened in shock. Where had that come from? Sobering up quickly she cleared her throat, “I didn't expect this to be free. I’m happy to pay you back any way I can, I know that it's not going to be easy with how much all of this probably cost but shit, I’m no stranger to working for what I’ve got.” She glanced out of the window once more, her eyes skating over Elpis before returning to Jack. He was smirking, a cocky, almost knowing expression plastered on his perfect face.

“Oh, I know, cupcake. I know quite a bit about you, actually.” He spun his computer screen around, revealing a scan of a document headed by a picture of her, her name emblazoned in large letters across Hyperion headed paper. “Turns out I don’t have to fire my archivist. This baby is tucked away in a data bank somewhere on the station but he managed to get it to me just before you woke up.”

She stepped forward, eager to get a good look at the file, but stopped when she realised what she was doing. What did Handsome Jack know about her, and why did Hyperion have a file on her in the first place? It finally dawned on her that she was well and truly in the wolves den, in fact she was standing in the home of the most dangerous man this side of the galaxy, face to face… And she had laughed at his joke like they were friends. Jack studied the wave of different emotions making their way across her face, concerned but unsurprised that fear and panic were the most predominant. She could quite easily turn against him right there, of course if she did he would shoot her and be done with it but somehow he hoped it wouldn't come to that. When her face finally settled, her internal battle seemingly over, he was surprised to see remorse was what remained.

“Shit, here’s me just chatting away like it’s nothing. I should've introduced myself before. Bit late for that, I suppose, but I’m Ash. Not that you didn’t already know that.” She paused in her dithering to pull herself together while Jack looked on, thoroughly amused, “I’m sorry for being so rude, sir.”

The room was silent for a moment, a second seeming to stretch into an eternity for Ash, who was fully expecting to be ejected into space for not giving Handsome Jack the respect he deserved. As she waited for the penny to drop she watched the man, still bold by usual standards but more reserved than she had been previously. She physically jumped when the CEO let out a bark of laughter. As he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes he waved a hand in her direction dismissively.

“Relax, kid! It’s not like I’m gonna save your ass just to kill you myself.” His fingers came to his chin at that, dramatically ponderous, “Well, I would do that actually, but not in this situation. There’s literally no point in killing you, so you can stop twitching, alright.”

Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a gun and she was about to call him out on his smarmy bullshit until he held it out for her and she got a good look at it. It was hers, her pride and joy. Grabbing it from him she checked it over with glee, hopping on the balls of her feet. She had thought she would never see it again.

“You saved my gun…” Tucking it away in her jeans she glanced curiously at Jack, “I could have shot you. I know it’s loaded, why would you hand me a loaded gun, sir?”

He rolled his eyes at that, “Jeez, my name’s Jack, kid. Use it. Drop the ‘sir’.” A lecherous smirk crept onto his face then, “Unless you’re into that kind of thing.” She blushed, her face dark with embarrassment and Jack chuckled darkly, “Ooh, file that away for later. Anyway, you didn't shoot me so we’re all good. Although I am a little annoyed, cupcake. You use a Jakobs?! Rude.”

“It’s a good gun! And you use a Jakobs!” She leapt on the defensive without even thinking, “This thing has kept me alive more times than I can count, and I mean… It has a few upgrades that aren't exactly factory spec so that kind of helps.”

Striding around his desk he plopped down into the large Hyperion yellow chair, had it been anyone else it would have been clumsy and inelegant but Jack managed to make it graceful. Resting his elbows on the arms of the chair he steepled his fingers, leaning back as relaxed as he always seemed. “Tell me about these upgrades.”

She stepped up to his desk, smiling. She was in her element when it came to her gun. Taking it out again she ejected the cylinder, pulling the rounds free and lining them up on the desk. “It’s a Pandora Special, a little bit of whatever you can scavenge from dead weapons and deader people to keep what you’ve got running.” She dismantled it quickly, pointing out several things as she did, “I went with the Jakobs base because the firing mechanism is the most reliable and that’s the thing that I needed to keep in working order most — don’t look at me like that, everything has its strengths, I know for a fact you were packing a Jakobs in the bar so quit being a dick about it. The rounds I use are always standard because I don’t have the scratch for elemental but I use a Hyperion ignition mechanism to give it flame rounds, they’re the scariest for unshielded bandits. It’s got a bit of everything to be honest, except Maliwan and Tediore because they’re just utter trash. I didn’t fancy a disposable piece of crap that’d eat more rounds than I could afford and backfire on me once a fucking day.” 

Jack looked on, mildly impressed by her knowledge and resourcefulness. Perhaps there was something to be said for spending a lifetime on Pandora. He wouldn’t know, he’d escaped that godforsaken rock as soon as he was able.

“You want a job, kiddo?” Not waiting for her to reply, he continued, “Obviously it’ll keep you here at Hyperion, you’ll get a place here on Helios, so if you really want to go back to that skag-infested rock I’ll understand — well no, I won’t understand, who’d want to go back to Pandora?!”

Jack blathered on in the background but her mind stuttered to a halt after those first few words… He was offering her a job at Hyperion. The opponent crushing, trail blazing, ‘best weapons in all the solar systems and we’ll moonshot you if you say any different’ Hyperion. Did she really want to work for a corporation that killed its opposition, customers who criticised them and employees who questioned the status quo? A corporation run by the most fearsome man in the Borderlands, who was unpredictable and brutal, and who had saved her from certain death at the hands of the bandits who had come to kill him.

“… And at the end of the tea party I set him on fire. You’re not listening to a word I’m saying are you?” Fingers snapped in front of her eyes, drawing her attention back to the present.

“Did you just offer me a job?” Silence. Jack’s gaze was heavy, boring into hers, and she wanted nothing more to cast her eyes around his impressive office, look out over Pandora and Elpis, play with the small golden bobblehead toy of Jack that rested on his desk — anything but look at the man himself.

“Yep. My R&D labs could do with someone who’s lived on Pandora long enough to know what’ll sell. That could be you, pumpkin. Whaddya say?” In the face of her stunned silence he continued, almost as if he was pleading his case, “It’ll come with a cushy place on the residential levels and one good idea should pay off everything I spent on fixing you up. It’s a once in a lifetime chance here, kiddo.”

He was serious. She answered without thinking much beyond how bright his eyes were and how, strangely enough, when she wasn't thinking about it he wasn't really that intimidating. “Yes.” Realising that wasn't the most polite response, she expanded, “I’d be honoured to work for Hyperion. Shit, anyone who doesn't jump at the chance is a dumbass.”

“Alright, kid. You start tomorrow. Pretty soon you’ll be pilfering tech with the best of ‘em.” He reached into a drawer in his expansive desk and she couldn't stop the thrill of adrenaline, the thought that just maybe he’d been lying to her and that he would shoot her dead right there. Her fear trickled away when she saw what he’d retrieved, though perhaps it shouldn’t have. An ID card rested in his palm, extended for her to take, a hologram of her own face staring blankly back at her. “This will get you everywhere you’re allowed to go and tell me if you’re trying to get somewhere you shouldn’t. It’s your cash, the key to your apartment and the easiest way for security to know who you are. Do not lose it, understood?”

She nodded her assent, taking the card and clipping the bright Hyperion stitched lanyard to her belt loop as Jack pulled out his ECHO, already moving his focus to other things. “August… Need you to show the new kid to her place… No, you’re not a glorified tour guide, August, you’re whatever the hell I say you are… twenty-fifth floor, apartment three-seventeen C, meet her off the elevator.” He hung up without any further pleasantries, tucking his ECHO away before answering her curious expression, “August is an old friend from Pandora. He’s gonna meet you off the elevator and show you where you’ll be staying. It’s nothing too fancy so don’t get your hopes up, but it should do just fine.”

She opened her mouth to protest that she didn't need him to look after her but let it snap shut as she remembered where she was. Helios. She didn't have any connections on the station that could help her, she was inescapably alone aside from Jack. And wasn't that a hell of a sobering thought. Resigning herself to the fact that she would just have to live on Jack’s — Hyperion’s, she reminded herself — dime and at their mercy for a while, she made a noise of understanding. “Okay, I got it. Don’t lose the card, meet August on the twenty-fifth floor. Anything else?” She resisted the urge to jokingly call him ‘bossman’, nothing was certain yet except for the fact that she still expected to be airlocked in short order.

“Nope, you’re all clear to start work tomorrow, I’ll get your schedule and everything sent over to your ECHO when I pin it down, I’m kinda winging it here, kiddo.”

She laughed at that, not quite believing that Handsome Jack was every truly winging it before glancing around nervously, plucking at the lanyard that stood out clear as day against her jeans and marked her out as someone who belonged on Helios. The idea was jarring to her but it felt like something she could get used to. “Thank you. First, you saved my life and now you’re essentially giving me a new one. I’m just… Thank you, s- Jack.”

Jack scoffed a laugh, “Come on, kid, you’re making me blush. Busy day tomorrow. Clear off.”

She did so, his words causing a warm feeling to blossom in her chest that she stamped out quickly. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about Handsome Jack but she was fine with him one second and the next he disarmed her completely. She imagined he did the same to most people. The ride back to the Hub in Jack’s personal elevator didn’t take as long as she would have liked, it gave her barely any time to come to grips with what had just happened. Thankfully the Hub was well signposted and she found her way to the residential elevators quickly, even lost in thought as she was. As she stepped into the elevator, tapping her ID card to authenticate that she was indeed allowed to be on the 25th floor, she belatedly realised that she hadn't thought to ask about her bar at all. It didn’t really feature as a big thing, not in the grand scheme of the past couple of hours of her life. She patted her reassembled gun, tucked into the back of her jeans beneath the oversized Hyperion sweatshirt that still smelled like someone else, comforted by both as she descended towards her new home.


End file.
